Blue White Illustrated

season for 27 yards. That had to be a major concern for O'Brien and his staff, and it meant that sophomore Bill Belton needed to make the move from the slot receiver position to a backup running back spot. As things worked out, Belton's move to running back proved to be the best position switch O'Brien made on offense during spring prac- tice. Belton was the leading rusher in the Blue-White Game, gaining 50 yards on seven carries for an aver- age of 7.1 yards per attempt. He also had a 7-yard touchdown run. "Bill is a smart guy," O'Brien said. "He's a quiet guy. He works at his craft, and when we moved him there, he picked it up pretty well. He has good instincts." The one question that O'Brien has with Belton's play at running back is whether he will be able to avoid turning the ball over. "I want him to carry the ball a little bit closer to his chest and take care of the football," O'Brien said. "Like I tell these guys: When you carry the football, you carry the hopes and dreams of this football team. So ball security will be something that we'll talk to him about." Belton's performance this spring got the attention of his teammates on offense. "Billy made some great plays [in the Blue-White Game]. He's a great player. He's got a ton of talent," full- back Michael Zordich said. "He's an effortless athlete. I think he has the ability to add some serious, serious weaponry to our arsenal." When preseason practice begins, the Lions will have Redd, Belton, Dukes, Day, Zach Zwinak and in- coming freshman Akeel Lynch at running back. That certainly isn't the type of depth situation I envi- sioned at the beginning of spring practice on March 26. DEFENSIVE END This is one area where I had serious concerns not only about depth, but also about who would claim the starting positions. Gone were 2011 starters Eric Lati- more and Jack Crawford, and fifth- year senior Pete Massaro was com- ing off of his second ACL injury. Stanley and Massaro were the only defensive ends who entered spring practice with any starting experi- ence. The good news here for Penn State is that Massaro appears to be 100 percent healthy, Stanley now stands 6-1, 252 pounds, and the team got strong performances this spring from redshirt sophomores Kyle Baublitz and C.J. Olaniyan and red- shirt freshman Deion Barnes. Olaniyan's improvement this spring was evident in the Blue- White Game. He was credited with only three tackles, but all three were sacks, resulting in 21 yards in losses. But it was Barnes who probably made the biggest improvement in spring practice leading up to the Blue-White Game. He is listed at 6- 4, 252 pounds and appears to be physically prepared to contribute at the position this fall. "I think Deion has grown a lot from the fall, and he's gotten a lot smarter," Stanley said. "He knows SEE CORNER, PAGE 27 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M J U N E 1 , 2 0 1 2 9

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